“We have to be creative”, manager Joe Espada told reporters, among others Chandler Rome of The Athletic. “And I have to find ways to get them all in the lineup and keep everyone healthy.”
Altuve, a career second baseman, started last season as Houston’s primary left fielder. The results were about what you’d expect from a 35-year-old playing the outfield for the first time. Altuve recorded a miserable -10 defensive runs saved and -5 outs above average in his 47 appearances on the grass. Espada maintained the position that Altuve would be back at second base in 2026, with only occasional starts in the outfield.
While his batting average dropped, Altuve remained a productive offensive player last season. He hit 26 home runs and scored 10 steals. Perhaps more importantly, he stayed on the field. Altuve played in 155 games, his most since 2016.
Altuve won’t be the only Astro to get a shot at second base this season. Paredes and Brice Matthews gets reps at the position, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Matthews also gets opportunities in midfield.
Paredes played strictly at third base in his first season in Houston, but he has experience at all four spots in the infield. The majority of his appearances at second base came during his two full seasons with the Rays. Paredes made 44 starts at the cornerstone position from 2022 to 2023. He has never been a standout defender, but his work at second base has been decent. Paredes has saved -1 defensive runs in his 456 2/3 innings there.
Getting Paredes’ bat into the lineup will be crucial, regardless of where he fits. The right-hander’s pull-heavy, fly-ball driven approach worked exactly as expected when he made Daikin Park his home. Paredes launched 20 home runs in just 102 games in 2025. A hamstring injury robbed him of the chance to attack the Crawford Boxes for a full season, but the initial returns were promising.
MLB.com has Matthews as Houston’s top prospect. The 23-year-old was a first-round pick in 2023. Last year he had 17 home runs and 41 steals at Triple-A, earning a brief MLB call-up. Matthews primarily played second base in his minor league career. He also has experience at third base and shortstop, plus a handful of appearances in the outfield.
Baseball America labeled Matthews as the best defensive infielder in Houston’s system. Even with his lack of MLB track record, he is probably the best glove the Astros can use at the position. Adding Matthews to the on-field mix would further muddy the waters. There’s also the question of whether he could make enough contact to earn regular at-bats. Matthews had a 27.9% strikeout rate last season with Sugar Land. In 2024, it was 31.4% across four minor league levels. Matthews fanned 20 times in 47 MLB batting appearances.
The surplus on the field could be solved with a few trades, and general manager Dana Brown told reporters that several players are generating interest. Rome quoted Walker and Jesus Sanchez like two names falling into that bucket. He also said Boston is interested in Paredes, although a deal is not believed to be close. In terms of additions, Brown said he was looking for a left-handed hitter to offset the right-handed lineup. “If that opportunity arises and we can make a trade for it, it would be intriguing for us to make the team better..”
As Rome notes, the Angels were the only team to have fewer left-handed at-bats than the Astros last season. Victor Caratini was responsible for almost half of those at-bats, and he’s now a twin. Alvarez is the only left-hander signed up for regular duty, along with Sanchez and Zach Cole also taking into account the outfield group.
Steve Adams recently discussed Houston’s outfield issues in a Front Office article. The free agent market for left-handed outfielders is barren, especially at Max Kepler missed the first half of the year. Michael Conforto, Adam FrazierAnd Mike Tauchman are among the remaining options that earned semi-regular playing time in 2025. The trading market would provide more interesting candidates. Rome was thrown away Jarren Duran And Wilier Abreuadding that Houston finds the latter more intriguing than the former.
Brown still has a few months to make adjustments for a team that missed the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016.”We’ll continue to grind until spring training and maybe even into spring training. We want to do everything we can to make this team a better team.”
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images
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